The Streets of Havana

Cuba, once a colony of Spain, draws its heritage from
many sources, aspects of several cultures influencing the everyday life of the
Cuban people, as well as the city of Havana itself. Havana, like many cities in
Spain and its various colonies, uses a relatively similar city plan, with a
fort located on the outskirts of the city, as well as tall and narrow streets
forming grids, full of small plazas and larger squares. The houses and small
shops and restaurants lining these streets are beautiful shades of blue, white
and gold, the colonial wealth of the city still apparent today.

This city plan has many benefits for Cubans. The
height and proximity of the buildings causes many of the streets to be shady
during the day, and create natural wind tunnels which help keep the city cool.
The plazas also offer many benefits, providing a space for public art, as well
as gathering, with many of these squares having their own churches or small
community centers, like the home for the elderly and the maternal homes which
we visited today. Further outside the main hub of Old Havana, the grid doesn’t
end, but the streets themselves become wider and on steeper and steeper
inclines as the city spreads away from the ocean.

There are, however, some major problems with this city
layout. While our group was exploring Old Havana, the historic downtown center,
today, looking at art and buying chocolate, it started to rain. Hard. While we
didn’t have too many problems, finding a taxi was difficult in the quickly
flooding streets, as water poured from the rooftops and gained speed as it
rushed down the hill towards the ocean. By the time we managed to find a ride,
we were all sopping wet, the buildings on either side of us offering little
respite from the rain.

So far, I’ve really been enjoying Cuba, and
experiences like this just make the trip even more memorable to me and
hopefully the rest of the group too. Seeing how the city changed so quickly,
with the regular hustle and bustle all but disappearing in the rain was cool,
and an experience I wasn’t expecting to have, but it let us all see the city in
a new light.

I visited Spain with my family last year, and a lot of
Havana reminds me of the cities and towns we explored there, which is really
cool for me. The food in Cuba is also nice. Simple enough to be comfortable,
but also different enough from home to be interesting, a combination that while
not extraordinarily exciting, makes meals more than just ways to feed
ourselves, and helps the group as a whole learn a bit more about Cuban life and
culture. Cuba is a country lost in time, familiar enough to help everyone feel
comfortable, but also special in it’s own unique, Cuban way.